HANK IV : Refuge In Genre ref. DISTRO

A decidedly meaner, sharper, and more pummeling affair than their critically acclaimed debut, Hank IV's second album, Refuge in Genre, sports eleven songs in 30 scorched-earth minutes. No visit to the lo-fi or "shit-gaze" Quonset huts this, Refuge in Genre was recorded in shattering hi-fidelity by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs) and mastered by Bob Weston (Shellac). 
 
The rollicking San Francisco quintet has been in the crosshairs of the Siltbreeze hunting rifle since just after the release of their debut LP, Third Person Shooter (Hook or Crook, 2006). Attempts to release their Dirty Poncho 7-inch were squashed (the honor went to Plastic Idol) so Siltbreeze did what any jilted paramour would: decided to get even. 
 
The sound of Hank IV is a bit too wily and scrambled to pigeonhole as any one type of honk. Forward thinkers might tag 'em as panic-skiffle, combining the cunning and menace of compadres such as Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments or Country Teasers, with a dual guitar attack that nods toward the Bailey / Kuepper-era Saints as much as those dudes looked at Smith / Kramer for their nascent moves. Through all this stutter and pummel, vocalist Bob McDonald (formerly of Denver hardcore icons Bum Kon) doesn't throw caution to the wind so much as atomize it. If a shattered leg can't keep this herc from heralding the apocalypse, do you think your tender widdle ears have a chance? Not likely, bub. 
 
San Francisco quintet Hank IV has no relation whatsoever to the Hank Williams clan. Their hard-charging and visceral dual-guitar rock punk has been likened to "Crime meets Viletones meets Styrenes punk" (Z-Gun Magazine) and by WFMU's DJ Terre T as "a sick combination of Volcano Suns and Blue Cheer and Chain Gang!" Third Person Shooter was called "one of 2006's top punk albums" by Maximum Rockandroll, "Best of 2006" by Terminal Boredom, #2 album of 2006 by WFMU DJ Evan Funk Davies, and the #8 album of 2006 by Terre T. The band has played twice at SXSW, including 2008 for the WFMU 50th anniversary showcase, and performed at Gonerfest IV in Memphis in 2007.